Langhi was also in line when the iconic theater first opened Nov. 11, 1938.

"I was here that day with family members and neighborhood friends and it's just very nostalgic." said Langhi, who was celebrating her birthday that day. "I can remember at the kiddie's matinee, which I attended every Saturday, they always had some giveaways."

In keeping with that tradition, the theater gave away a new bicycle on Monday, via a raffle.

The theater's 93-foot tower at Broadway and Land Park Drive is now a Sacramento landmark that started from humble beginnings.

"This remarkable building was built on the site of a former city dump," noted Matias Bombal, a film historian and former Tower employee.

"The Tower cost between $150,000 and $200,000 to build, "said John Sittig, director of projection and sound for Reading Cinemas. "And unlike the theaters on K Street, this was a neighborhood theater that showed second-run features with cartoons and short subjects."

Back in 1938, admission was just a quarter, half the price of a ticket at the K Street movie houses.

On Monday, the Tower Theatre rolled back prices to 75 cents for admission, with military veterans given a free pass in honor of Veterans Day.

The movie on the screen Monday was "Algiers," the same film that was shown during the Tower's debut in 1938.

"Back in 1938, films came on 2,000-foot reels," Sittig explained. "And they were usually five to six reels long and weighed 30 to 40 pounds."

Today, movies come on an encrypted hard drive with a code that allows only the designated theater to show the featured film.

When the Tower Theatre opened, it was common to give away china settings at the movies.

"Once a week you would come to the theater and you would pick up a piece of your china," said Roxanne Miller of the Tower District Alliance. "And by a period of time, you'd have a complete set."

The Tower was the site where Erna Seibold had her very first date.

"I was 14. It was 1944," she said. "He was a neighbor boy. You know. just a friend. And he asked my father if he could bring me to the movies. And my dad let me come. That was my first time, my date."

THEY USED A STOLEN CREDIT CARD AT A CARL'S JR A SACRAMENTO LANDMARK IS CELEBRATING A LANDMARK TONIGHT. WE WILL GO FROM THE STARLIGHT'S OF YEAR AND THE RED CARPETS THAT ARE ROLLED OUT. EVERYWHERE , YOU HAVE THE COMMEMORATION OF THE DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE TOWER OPENING. A MOVIEGOER HERE EARLIER TODAY WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST ONE THIS OPENED 75 YEARS AGO TONIGHT. WHEN THE TOWER THEATER FIRST OPENED IN 1938, SHE WAS HERE TO CELEBRATE. I WAS HERE WITH FAMILY MEMBERS AND NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS. IT WAS VERY NOSTALGIC. THE TOWER THEATER IS SHOWING THIS FILM TONIGHT. WE ARE WITHIN A STONE'S THROW. IN 1938, IT COST $.25 TO SEE A MOVIE, WHICH WAS OFTEN PRECEDED WITH A NEWSREEL. THE METHODOLOGY OF SHOWING FILM HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY SINCE IT OPENED. THEY CAME UNTO THOUSAND FEET REELS AND THEY'RE USUALLY FIVE OR SIX FEET LONG AND WEIGHED 30 OR 40 POUNDS. THE PATHOLOGY HAS CHANGED BUT THE -- IT COST 150 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO BUILD BACK IN THE 1930S. IT IS A REMARKABLE SIGHT AND IT WAS BUILT ON A CITY DUMP IN 1938. THE TOWER HAS BECOME A SACRAMENTO LANDMARK. HE WAS THE NEIGHBOR BOY AND HE ASKED MY FATHER AND HE COULD TAKE ME TO THE MOVIES. MY DAD LET ME CALM AND THAT WAS MY FIRST DAY. WOW. SO THAT IS A MEMORY THAT WILL LIVE FOREVER. THAT IS WHY I'M HERE. IN HONOR OF THIS, EVERYBODY COMING IN HERE TONIGHT IS COMING IN FOR $.75 A TICKET , $.75 FOR POPCORN. NOT A BAD DEAL. LOVE TO HEAR THAT. SO MUCH HISTORY THERE BEHIND YOU AT THAT OLD BUILDING. WHAT OTHER TRADITIONS DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE TOWER THEATER? IT GOES BACK TO THE PAST WHEN THE THEATER OPENED IN THE 1930S. PEOPLE SHOWED UP WHENEVER THEY WANTED TO. IF THE MOVIE ENDED, YOU WOULD SAY GRAB FOR THE NEXT SHOWING. IT WOULD BE IN THE 1960S WHEN INTRODUCED ADVERTISED SHOWTIMES.